YouCaring and the ACCO: Crowdfunding for Children With Cancer

Monthly Archives: February 2016

YouCaring, the leader in free online fundraising, is proud to announce its partnership with the American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO). ACCO is recognized as a true pioneer in the ongoing fight against childhood cancer and the promotion of childhood cancer educational materials and national and international awareness. YouCaring’s goal is to help the families of children battling this awful disease by offering resources, support and a free platform to raise funds for medical expenses and other costs involved in treatment.

A cancer diagnosis turns life upside down, and we feel the last thing families should have to worry about are financial burdens caused by the high costs of cancer. Research shows families fighting this disease are twice as likely to go bankrupt as those who are not.

Utilizing the power of your social networks to drive awareness and support, crowdfunding offers an effective way to quickly drum up support online from family, friends and potential donors all over the world.
YouCaring’s Top Tips for a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

1. Tell an Engaging Story

When telling your fundraising story, it’s important to explain your situation honestly and clearly communicate what the funds will enable you to do or provide to a loved one. Highlight your fundraising goal, a deadline if you have one and any specific details that help paint a personal and compelling picture about your cause. Answer questions such as who the fundraiser is for, what happened, and why it’s important to you. We also suggest finding similar YouCaring fundraisers that have successfully reached their goals and using them as a template for your own campaign.

2. Name Your Fundraiser

When choosing your campaign name, make it short, descriptive and simple to find when people are searching for it online. It’s also highly recommended that you always include the first and last name of the beneficiary in your fundraiser title since people generally always type this into the search field on YouCaring and in Google. Another insider tip is to include a unique hashtag within the title of your crowdfunding campaign. This will help people find your campaign online. To learn more about choosing a name for your campaign, see our post Great Ideas for Naming Your Online Fundraiser.

3. Upload Quality Images

Photos play an important part in your fundraiser’s overall success. High-quality images have a powerful effect on your potential supporters’ ability to develop empathy toward your cause. Data shows fundraisers with at least five photos raise more than twice as much as those with just one photo. As your campaign progresses, we recommend adding new images to keep it updated and engaging. For more ideas about the ways photos can benefit your campaign, read our article How Images Can Lead to Fundraising Success.

4. Make a Video

A video is one of the most effective ways to tell your story, elicit empathy for your cause, and emotionally connect with your potential donors. Using videos also drastically improves your chances of fundraising success. We’ve found that fundraisers using videos raise more than 100 percent on average than those that don’t. You can upload videos when you have campaign updates or if you’d like to make a thank you video for your donors. Either way, it’s a powerful and impactful way to communicate with people.

5. Share Often on Social Media

Using social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter is vital to the success of your fundraising campaign. With the click of a button, you’re able to instantly share your fundraiser with your friends and family and request that they help promote your campaign to their social networks as well. It’s also beneficial to create a unique hashtag to include in your posts. This way you make your campaign easier to find. Be sure to check out our post Creating and Using Social Media to Promote Your Fundraiser for additional tips.

6. Post Frequent Updates

Updating your crowdfunding campaign often will greatly impact your fundraising success. We suggest that you post text, photo and video updates at least once a week. This will help keep your fundraiser from losing momentum or stalling mid-campaign. We also recommend sharing good news as well as bad news in your updates so your supporters can stay up to date on your progress. Always make sure you’re sharing all of your updates to Facebook and Twitter, as well as a blog if you have one.

7. Create a Facebook Page For Your Fundraiser

Aside from having a personal Facebook account, many people have started creating public Facebook community pages specifically based on their campaign. Utilizing a Facebook page is an excellent way to promote your campaign, post daily or weekly updates, add photos and videos, maintain momentum and engage your supporters. It’s also a great way to continue motivating others to share your campaign and your posts to their social networks—the more exposure you have, the more donations you’ll receive.

On June 5, 2015, at the age of 2, Brayden de Besche was diagnosed with high-risk stage IV neuroblastoma. Since his family did not have any warning signs, the cancer had metastasized to his skull, upper and lower spine, pelvis, upper arms, femurs, tibias, thorax, lymph nodes and bone marrow, and one large mass developed next to his abdomen. For 15 months since his diagnoses, Brayden’s treatment includes at least 6 rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, radiation, surgery to remove tumors, multiple back-to-back stem cell transplants into his bone marrow and any other possible treatment to give him a chance at overcoming this disease. You can learn more about Brayden’s battle on his Facebook page, Brayden’s Brave Battle – Facebook.

Monroe Okola was diagnosed with high-risk stage IV neuroblastoma in August 2015 at only 4 years old. Monroe’s family left behind their business, jobs, family, friends and all that is familiar to them to go to New York City so Monroe could be treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The facility treats more pediatric neuroblastoma cases than any other institution in the world and has a team of doctors who only handle neuroblastoma patients.You can learn more about Monroe’s fight on her Facebook page, Team Monroe – Facebook.

Start Your YouCaring Campaign in Partnership With the ACCO

Ready to begin collecting donations for medical expenses for a child cancer patient? You can create a free YouCaring fundraiser today. In addition to raising funds for cancer treatments and other costs, those wishing to contribute in other ways can start crowdfunding for kids with cancer to raise awareness, fund research or pay tribute to a loved one who passed away.

“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Savannah Nicole was a year and 2 months when doctors found a cancerous brain tumor. Later she was diagnosed with AML, and halfway in the year her tumor stopped responding to the chemotherapy, which caused 3 tumors to form near the eyes. Savannah has went through so much in just a short amount of time, in just the 8 months she lived that was taken by childhood cancer! Savannah has gone under the knife more than 5 times, maybe even more than 10, has had 2 brain surgeries, intense radiation after radiation, as well as chemotherapy. Savannah had to take more than 7 different medicines a NIGHT and was sedated every day for 6 weeks, Monday-Friday! Savannah just wanted to be normal and to have long hair. My baby was such a strong, strong little girl! Everyday was a constant struggle for my baby, since day 1, but you know what? She made it through each day and with a smile on her face! When doctors told me that Savannah would no longer walk, she walked. When doctors told me she wouldn’t be able to use her right arm and leg, she did! When she couldn’t walk because of the tumors in her spine, she walked, when she didn’t have a appetite, she’d push herself to eat. Savannah always encouraged herself an accomplished so much. She fought hard to live, to see her family, to see her sister. Savannah was just a smart, loving, most beautiful girl in this world! Savannah had a enormous heart that loved oh so deep, with beautiful big eyes! Before the radiation and chemotherapy she had long beautiful curled hair. Even after intense chemotherapy caused Savannah’s hair to fall out, she rocked and LOVED the bald look! Oh! Did she love her Disney movie frozen, especially Anna, she loved her apples, toys, food and her shoes and bald little head! Everyone loved Savannah. It has been 6 months since Savannah has left this earth, and people still ask for her, people always tell me how much they miss and lover her, and how much she has made an impact on their life and made them see life in a whole other perspective. So why is this person, my daughter a Gold Ribbon Hero? Because she was a FIGHTER! Through ever ounce of pain that she suffered, and that she endured, she always, and I mean ALWAYS kept a smile on her face! Savannah, my sweet girl, my world has taught me so, SO much, but mainly how to be #SavannahStrong!” – Ashley R.

“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: Elijah James or EJ as we call him was dx with ATRT when he was 6 months old. EJ is battling 3 tumors 2 in his right/left side of his brain and one in his left kidney. EJ is fighting for his life and he is such a little fighter,for a baby. He just had his 1st birthday and every where we go he captives the heart of ppl. He’s eyes alone drives you in and his laughter is contiguous. For these reason my son is my hero my little superman.” – Sonia C.

In January, childhood cancer advocacy and support groups from across the globe joined together to ask children and teens everywhere to raise their voices against childhood cancer. The response has been overwhelming! More than 900,000 children and teens from around the world joined the Child4Child campaign to raise their voices in song and let all children bravely battling this disease know that they are not alone. And today, International Childhood Cancer Day 2016, the results of this incredible, world-wide awareness campaign are ready!

Today, the new hit song We Are One is globally available on all major streaming and music platforms, including Amazon, Apple Music, Deezer, Google Music, Iheartradio, ITunes, Rhapsody, Shazam, Slacker, Spotify, Tidal, Xbox Music, and Youtube.

Watch the amazing, moving We Are One music video:

We Are One was written especially for the Child4Child campaign by prolific Hollywood composer and creator of the soundtrack for Disney’s Frozen Christophe Beck and his 12-year-old daughter Sophie. The video was directed and edited by internationally-renowned director Johan Söderberg, best known for directing David Bowie’s last music video, as well as videos for Beyoncé and Madonna. The verses of We Are One are sung by well-known and talented musical stars from around the world, including Sophie Beck, Livvy Stubenrauch (the voice of Anna in Disney’s Frozen), and Alexa Curtis (winner of The Voice Kids Australia 2014). Cameron Dallas, Aaralyn O’Neil, Olivia Swinton, Fresh Ré, and so many other well-known talented children and teens have joined the chorus as well; indeed, celebrities from around the world have added their star power to this incredible, growing movement to raise awareness about the devastating impact of childhood cancer on children and their families. But,

The voices you hear in We Are One are yours!

The faces you see in this special video are yours!

The World Unites to Fight Childhood Cancer in New Hit Song

The chorus of We Are One is a compilation of the voices of more than 900,000 children and teens who participated in the Child4Child campaign by recording themselves singing the powerful words. In fact, the campaign became a trending topic on Musical.ly just hours after Child4Child launched on January 11. But these amazing kids didn’t just record themselves singing; the energy and creativity that so many of them gave to this campaign simply amazed us. They choreographed special dances, they lip-synced videos, and even created their own unique covers! Children recorded themselves solo, with their siblings and families, with school groups and church groups, and most importantly, with and in honor of the special childhood cancer warriors who have touched their lives.

So, as Mr. Beck compiled these voices into a beautiful global chorus and Mr. Söderberg used as many videos and contributions as he could to create a powerful music video, We Are One truly is a global phenomenon, one that could not have been completed without you! And we, the childhood cancer community in the United States and around the world, and in the name of the children and their families whose lives have been impacted forever by childhood cancer, thank you for your help and support.

The Child4Child Campaign Continues

Every day around the world, 700 children are diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer and countless more in low-income countries fail to receive a diagnosis due to lack of access to basic medical care. Despite major advances in cancer treatment for many forms of adult cancer, 1 in 5 children who receive a cancer diagnosis will not survive, while those that do face life-long health problems as a result of today’s outdated childhood cancer treatments. The goal of the Child4Child campaign is simple: to remind us of the terrible toll childhood cancer takes on children and their families today, to shine a spotlight on the urgent need for new and better treatment options, and to demand equal access to diagnosis, treatment, and even basic healthcare for children in low-income countries.

Today, on International Childhood Cancer Day, we remind you that the growing awareness of this disease and the powerful call for greater action that We Are One represents must continue. Indeed, Child4Child is just one part of the on-going global campaign to make the voices calling for an end to childhood cancer louder than ever before. To show your support, we encourage you to download this amazing new hit song and video, and continue the movement by going to Child4Child.com and recording your support now!

Atlanta law firm, John Foy & Associates, announced their first winner of a bi-annual “Strong Arm” Leukemia Scholarship. Christopher Gitter, 18, a Mendota Heights, MN, resident was awarded the first “Strong Arm” Leukemia Scholarship. Chris will use the $1,000 as an incoming college freshman in Fall 2016. He has already been accepted into the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Christopher is waiting to hear from a few more schools, but if he decides to attend Wisconsin, he will be a fifth-generation Badger. Read more and watch the interview with Chris here.

“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: A 13 year old with two B9 brain tumors on her brain stem. Who was also diagnosed with a stage 4 gleosarcoma at the age of 11; the doctors were able to remove it. She has hope for the future and her health defect (Neurofibromatosis), and in her heart she knows she will be able to live for another day.” – Addy J

“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: A survivor of nuroblastoma childhood cancer. My daughter is my hero. She was diagnosed at 5/1/2 months at Arkansas children’s hospital. The main tumor was removed an took chemotherapy for 6 months. She had many complications an many times thought would not live. Now she is 24 an is an LPN an in RN school while working full time. She wants to work with cancer patients! She is my miracle so blessed to be her mom.” – Grace M.

Only a Few More Days Left to Add Your Voice to the Chorus: Make Your Recording by February 8!

International Childhood Cancer Day is only a few short days away, and that means the highly-anticipated release of the Child4Child song “We Are One” is also only days away. That’s right: on International Childhood Cancer Day—February 15—Child4Child will release this amazing new song, composed by Christophe Beck and sung by children around the world, to show children fighting childhood cancer and their families that they are not alone. Nearly a million children and teens from across the globe have already raised their voices in song to support the many thousands of children bravely battling childhood cancer.

There is still time to add your voice to the growing chorus, to be a part of this amazing international event, but you must make a video of your child singing by Monday, February 8.

That’s only three days away!

If you are interested in adding your child’s voice to this amazing chorus, here’s what to do:

Listen to the chorus already recorded by some incredible child singers to learn the words;

Click the yellow “Record the Chorus” button to record your child’s version of the chorus!

All voices posted to the Child4Child website before Monday, February 8 will be compiled by Mr. Beck and his talented musical team into one amazing soundtrack, and then combined with the verses of the song, which have not yet been released but have already been recorded by very special musical talents such as Livvy Stubenrauch, the voice of Anna in Disney’s Frozen, and other incredible voices from America’s Got Talent, The Voice Kids Australia, and Britain’s Got Talent. When Child4Child launched this amazing initiative on January 11, we believed “We Are One” would be the greatest super-song in the history of childhood cancer, and now, three weeks later, we believe even more strongly than this recording is going to change the face…and thevoice…of childhood cancer forever!

The words to the chorus are powerful, moving, and simple:

We are young

We are strong

And we will sing this song together

So sing along.

And as one

We will rise

We won’t give up the fight

Until the night, yields to the sun.

We are one.

Is Anyone We Know Participating in Child4Child?

You bet! Ever heard of Cameron Dallas, Teen’s Choice Favorite Viner at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards? What about Aaralyn O’Neill from America’s Got Talent? You may have heard of Olivia Swinton from The Voice Kids or Fresh Ré, the up-and-coming band from County Kildare in Ireland…these amazing stars have all added their voices to “We Are One”, along with nearly a million children and teens from around the world. Every day, indeed every hour, more beautiful voices are being added to the growing chorus. If you would like to see—and hear—these awesome contributions, and get inspired to create your own contribution, we encourage you to visit the Child4Child website at:

What Is Child4Child?

Child4Child is the initiative of Garbergs Advertising Agency, the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation, and Childhood Cancer International (CCI), the largest patient-support organization for childhood cancer in the world. The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is the sole US-based member of CCI, maintaining a Board of Directors the majority of which are parents of children who have faced childhood cancer or who are childhood cancer survivors themselves. The goal of Child4Child is simple: to bring together as many voices as it can, working ‘in harmony’ together, to remind the world about the terrible toll childhood cancer takes on cancer’s youngest victims, to shine a spotlight on the desperate need for new and better treatment options for children fighting cancer, and to demand equal access to vital treatment, medications, and even basic healthcare for children in low-income countries.

Together, CCI and ACCO seek to represent the needs of children and adolescents with cancer, childhood cancer survivors, and their families. Working in partnership with international development organizations, policy makers, civil society organizations, health, research and medical professionals, CCI and the ACCO both strive to advocate for recognizing children’s rights and prioritizing childhood cancer as an integral part of the local, national, and global child health and development agenda. Child4Child is just one element of our on-going campaign to make the voices calling for an end to childhood cancer louder than ever before. We appreciate your help, support, and participation in this incredible international event!

To participate in Child4Child, or to learn more about this special international event, visit www.child4child.com.

You still have time!

International Childhood Cancer Day is just around the corner, and thousands of people here in the United States have already committed to helping the American Childhood Cancer Organization and childhood cancer parent- and advocacy- groups around the world raise awareness about this terrible childhood disease. On February 15—just 11 days away—these committed individuals will proudly wear their ICCD awareness t-shirts honoring more than 4,000 children whose lives have been impacted forever by childhood cancer.

There’s still time to purchase your shirt! Due to widespread power outages and Internet connectivity issues resulting from Winter Storm Jonas that swept across the United States in late January, dumping record levels of snow across the Plains and mid-Atlantic, the ACCO has extended the deadline for purchasing a t-shirt. Although shirts ordered during this second purchase window will not be available in time for International Childhood Cancer Day, ordering and wearing this shirt still makes a critical statement about your commitment to supporting our brave childhood cancer warriors and their families. If you are interested in purchasing an ICCD awareness t-shirt, please click on the link below:

This year’s ICCD t-shirts feature the names of more than 4,000 children who have faced childhood cancer, which remains the number one disease-related cause of death of children in the United States today. Due to the amazing outpouring of support and record number of names we received for this campaign, we were not able to include all the names on one shirt. So, to ensure that we could include every single one, we designed three different t-shirts! The names on the shirts are listed alphabetically by last name, while children who are honored with only their first name are listed on the third shirt in alphabetical order by first name. Thus, when ordering your shirt(s), please note that the names break down in the following way:

SHIRT 1: Aagard – Gray

SHIRT 2: Gray – Ontiveros

SHIRT 3: Ordaz – Zumberge, as well as children listed by first name only

Unfortunately, with ICCD day rapidly approaching, we won’t be able to keep the purchase window open for long, so we encourage you to join with the ACCO and thousands of supporters across the country and order your t-shirts now!

What is the ICCD T-Shirt Campaign and why is it so important?

This year’s ICCD t-shirt campaign has been an amazing success thus far, with more than 2,200 individuals purchasing more than 4,600 t-shirts! And with more orders flowing in every day, we want to be sure that everyone who wants one has the chance to get one! Why are we so excited about the success of this campaign? Because it means that

Word is getting out about the threat that childhood cancer continues to pose to children here and across the world;

More and more people are becoming aware of just how many children, just how many families, are changed forever by this disease; and

The chorus of voices demanding better treatments for childhood cancer and better access to those treatments is growing daily.

With every purchase of an ICCD t-shirt, you are helping the ACCO advocate on behalf of children facing this disease today, on behalf of those who will face it tomorrow, and on behalf of those whose lives have already been cut short or those who continue to suffer long-term health problems due to today’s outdated childhood cancer treatments. This is the goal of International Childhood Cancer Day: to shine a spotlight on the continuing need for research into new and better treatment options for childhood cancer, which in high- and middle-income countries remains dependent on highly toxic drugs developed decades ago to fight adult cancers; and to direct that spotlight into low-income countries, where children continue to die from cancers now considered “treatable” in the United States due to lack of access to adequate health care, and often even a proper diagnosis.

The ACCO and International Childhood Cancer Day

The ACCO invites you to join us on February 15, International Childhood Cancer Day, to help us shine a global spotlight on childhood cancer. The ACCO is the only US representative in Childhood Cancer International (CCI), an international group of 177 childhood cancer organizations across 90 countries and 5 continents, and as such, plays a critical role in bringing international awareness to childhood cancer

The ACCO is a non-profit charity dedicated to helping kids with cancer and their families navigate the difficult journey from cancer diagnosis through survivorship and bereavement. At the national level, the ACCO promotes the critical importance of ensuring continued funding into new and better treatment protocols for childhood cancer. At the grassroots level, the ACCO is focused on the children: developing and providing educational tools for families and learning resources for children in order to make the lives of children and their families a bit easier and perhaps even brighter during this difficult time. Many of our resources are available free of charge for families coping with childhood cancer.

For additional information on our programming and resources or for information on how to obtain our resources free of charge, please visit our website at www.acco.org.

For more information about the American Childhood Cancer Organization and how we can help, call 855.858.2226 or visit:

THE WHITE HOUSE | Office of the Vice President

PRESS RELEASE: February 1, 2016

FACT SHEET: Investing in the National Cancer Moonshot

During his 2016 State of the Union Address, President Obama called on Vice President Biden to lead a new, national “Moonshot” initiative to eliminate cancer as we know it. Today, the White House is announcing a new $1 billion initiative to jumpstart this work.

Too many American families know all too well the devastation cancer can bring. More than 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed and cancer will kill an estimated 600,000 Americans in 2016. Cancer doesn’t discriminate – it strikes young and old, family and friends, neighbors and co-workers. As the President said, we must harness the spirit of American innovation to identify new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. Read more.

Investments to Launch the Next Phase of Cancer Research

The Administration is launching the National Cancer Moonshot with a $1 billion initiative to provide the funding necessary for researchers to accelerate the development of new cancer detection and treatments, including:

The Moonshot initiative will begin immediately with $195 million in new cancer activities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year 2016.

The Fiscal Year 2017 Budget will propose to continue this initiative with $755 million in mandatory funds for new cancer-related research activities at both NIH and the Food and Drug Administration. Read more.

The American Childhood Cancer Organization is a 501(c)(3) public charity, whose programs and services are funded entirely by private donations, foundation grants, and corporate contributions.
IRS Tax ID 52-1071826 All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
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